BOLTON'S anti-frackers took to the streets to drum up support for their campaign.

Protestors from Bolton Against Fracking (BAF) were taking their campaign to the public in Victoria Square on Saturday.

The group are hoping to collect 4,000 signatures for a petition opposing fracking.

Simon Mortimer, from Bolton, said: "We want to hand this in when the first application for fracking comes in to Bolton Council. We are hoping to get 4,000 signatures for whenever that happens.

"We were out last week and collect over 700 signatures, people are against fracking when they realise it will affect this area."

BAF is part of the Frack Free Lancashire – a residents groups united against fracking – which joined yesterday's austerity march in Manchester city centre.

The group will also be joining Friends of the Earth in Bolton to campaign against fracking.

BAF member Megan Coyne said: "This is a really good opportunity for us to make history and prevent fracking in the area.

"We've had quite a good reaction off people in the streets and it's nice that people are open to hearing about how fracking will affect where they live."

Fracking is a technique for extracting gas or oil trapped between layers of rock by forcing the layers open using water under high pressure.

Anti-fracking campaigners are concerned about the effects of the process and the waste water generated.